Archive for November 11th, 2008
Haitian Immigrants Still Face Hardship in the D.R.
6:10 pm By Maegan La Mala · Dominicans| Haiti| Immigration| Latin America| World · Comments Off
11 Nov 2008
Nearly 3 years ago, I wrote about reports out of the Dominican Republic that Haitian workers and immigrants were being subjected to the most extreme forms of xenophobia and discrimination, and many were losing their lives. This post stirred up a lot of emotions, and it appears that now, 3 years later, things aren’t much better for Haitians in the D.R. The Inter Press Service reports on recent hate crimes and reprisals which are driving Haitians out of the Dominican Republic.
“A group of Dominicans armed with pistols, machetes and knives came to take revenge on us. I broke my leg trying to escape from my house, which was on fire. It’s not fair that all Haitians should have to pay for the crime of one,” Elena Piti, a Haitian mother of seven who lives in the Dominican Republic, told IPS.“I’m thinking of going back to Haiti, because I’m afraid that something might happen to me. Besides, I have nothing left here. I lost everything: my house, my money and my job,” said Franklin Jean, who IPS found hiding out in a precarious shelter in the surrounding fields.
The violence is reportedly a reprisal for a crime committed by a Haitian man against an elderly Dominican farmer. IPS reports that a mob burned down 25 houses in a Haitian settlement of El Cerro.
Latinos Want Richardson on Obama Cabinet
11 Nov 2008
There’s been a lot of talk about President-elect Obama’s cabinet choices this week. Righties are calling Obama’s choice for Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, a “thug”. And on the other side of things, at least one Latino group is pressuring for another important appointment: that of Secretary of State. They want ex-president candidate and New Mexico governor Bill Richardson to be Condy Rice’s successor:
Hispanic activists are pressing president-elect Barack Obama to appoint New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson to serve as secretary of state.They argue Richardson, a Hispanic who held cabinet-level and foreign policy posts in the Clinton administration, would help Obama deal with Latin American issues, and that the move would show the incoming president’s commitment to including Latinos in his administration.
Those “Hispanic activists” are actually a group called The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda, made up of members of MALDEF, LULAC and the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, among others.
Let’s see if Obama listens. I do think that Richardson has the international experience necessary for the post. But I wonder if being a cabinet member is enough for someone who aspired to be president just a few scant months ago?
Via / Biz Journals
Veteran’s Day
11 Nov 2008I am not patriotic, at least not towards the idea of the U.S. pero that doesn’t mean that on a “holiday” like today, I don’t recognize the role that Latinos have played and continued to play in the U.S. military and what a strange and ironic role that is.
I have a prima who is in the Air Force and in Iraq now. Pero let me be clear. She joined the military as an escape from a difficult life.
My Tio R. was in the army for a few years when I was a child and I remember the pride in my abuela’s face showing off photos of him in uniform. No one asked. So he didn’t tell until he left.
My Tio R., now happily retired in Puerto Rico, fought in the Korean War, along with many other Puerto Ricans.
Almost daily I watch military recruiters swarm around young men of color as they travel the subway tunnels to and from underpaid work and to and from underfunded schools. The carrot is money and stability, not death and invasion.
I understand the desire to give back to a country you feel has supported you. I understand the need to belong in a country that has never let people like my prima and my tios belong. Pero I also understand the illusion and delusion. The push forward of brown bodies on the front lines invading brown nations. The need to survive balanced against the options offered.
So yes, I remember and respect pero I also understand that being part of this military industrial complex isn’t always about choice.
Beer Bongs in all the wrong places
1:36 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Bizarro · Comments Off
11 Nov 2008Bianca asks the very important question here. Is this shit for real?
If is, please step back, I need to vomit.
via Bianca Laureano
Peru Wants Treasures Returned
12:24 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Peru| history · Comments Off
11 Nov 2008
Can colonialism ever really be over if invading/dominate countries own all the cultural possessions of invaded/weaker countries? The theft of indigenous artifacts by ‘prestigious’ universities and museums in the Western world is not just a common occurrence, but a given–something that is *expected* to happen–does anybody know where the historical artifacts of Iraq are?
So it’s great to see that Peru is fighting to get their own historical treasures returned:
Peru plans to sue prestigious Yale University in the United States, to recover storied Inca archaeological treasures which Lima says the school refuses to part with.
Labor Minister Jorge Villasante on Sunday confirmed the plans to pursue legal action. He is on a government panel leading the charge, along with Education Minister Jose Antonio Chang and Foreign Minister Jose Garcia Belaunde.
…
Lima is demanding the return of more than 46,332 documented pieces. Yale, in the northeastern US state of Connecticut, has proposed returning a much smaller number.
New Black Guilt=Oppressed Hispanic
11:18 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · US Presidential Race 2008 · Comments Off
11 Nov 2008Leave it to the Daily show to be real about our new ‘post-racial’ world.
It’s amusing to me to think of how many of the white liberals in the audience probably have no idea what thehy’re laughing at.
Bush Links Auto Industry Bailout to Colombia Trade Bill
9:51 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Colombia| Labor| economy · 3 Comments
11 Nov 2008
Remember how we all felt so good that Obama recognized that Colombian union leaders were getting murdered by corporations and stated as such during the debates? Remember how the Colombian organization, Association of Indigenous Couincils, wrote their letter to Obama detailing their lives and what they’d like to see happen under an Obama presidency?
Well, now we have President Bush’s response to their reality:
Bush said he would back demands for an auto industry bailout if Democrats support the stalled “free trade” deal with Colombia. Congressional Democrats have held up the deal over human rights concerns. Obama cited the repeated killings of Colombian union leaders during his final debate with John McCain last month. Democrats want to use some of the $700 billion in bailout money for major car companies like General Motors.
Basically, what this boils down to is if people in my community wants jobs, we must sign on to the murder of fellow workers down in Colombia. I vote an emphatic no on that choice. I hope that the unions in my area stick to their pre-election guns and recognize the blatant violent racism they will be participating in if they too, do not reject such a compromise.
via Democracy Now!
Fast to Change Wraps Up in California
9:30 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Immigration| Los Angeles · Comments Off
11 Nov 2008
Via Democracy Now! comes this really important interview about immigration policy in a post Obama world. Among the topics of discussion was the Fast for Change that happened out in California:
JUAN GONZALEZ: And, Alex, the fast going that’s been going on in Los Angeles, could you tell us who has been involved in it and why?
ALEX SANCHEZ: Well, IDEPSCA has taken a big lead, and RISE. Homies Unidos also took part. And other people, other community leaders, such as Angelica Salas from CHIRLA, and others that took part, individual students, there were elder community leaders, there were people undocumented, there were people that were documented, there were citizens. They all participated, from all realms, because it is an important issue.
We participated because we know that there’s these policies in place that have really made it difficult for individuals to present asylum cases in immigration courtrooms under the assumption that they’re deported—they’re deportable gang members, and that limits the opportunities they may have to seek a real asylum case and be heard.
So, the fast was to bring this awareness into the communities, but also to awake this giant monster that was awakened before but went back to sleep. We’re trying to wake him up and really taking it to the steps of the White House now under a new administration of Obama, in which he is committed himself to really looking out for the immigrant community. And that’s why we’re asking for the demands that we’re asking, for this new administration to actually make—help Obama be successful in legalizing our people, our immigrant people, and keeping our families together in the US.
Hola!
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